A licensed drone operator in Maui revealed that his drone was grounded, and he was visited by “government officials” after he flew it over the suspected origin site of the deadly fire in Lahaina, Maui, that has claimed over 100 lives and left roughly 1000 people unaccounted for, including children.
The claim made by Davin Phelps, a resident of Lahaina, was shared in a series of posts on X (Twitter) by Will Cain, co-host of Fox & Friends Weekends. Cain, who owns property on Maui and was among the initial reporters on the fires, brought attention to Phelps’ claim.
I don’t want to feed ridiculous conspiracies but all I can do is tell you the truth. I just spoke to a videographer from Lahaina. Davin Phelps. He’s a licensed drone pilot. He’s been flying over Lahaina for the past week. And he has stunning and haunting images of Lahaina.
Davin says he was hired by an attorney to fly his drone over the suspected area where the fire started. There is a no fly zone over Lahaina. But as you can see from the footage that hasn’t stopped him from getting images of Lahaina Town. But it was a different experience at the fires origin.
Apparently licensed drone pilots fly through an app coordinated with the FAA. That app can deny you permission to fly and remotely ground your drone. It’s very rare. But when Phelps got to the suspected fire origin area he was denied flight and grounded. Then he says two government officials (he doesn’t remember what agency) quickly visited him, asking for his license, and ran him off the Lahaina Intermediate School parking lot where he attempted to launch. So why the secrecy in this area? Liability? Accountability? Why no clarity on the origins and cause of the fire?
On Tuesday, the Honolulu Star Advertiser published a report detailing the refusal by officials to provide information about the hundreds of people who remain missing:
Miles of blackout fencing is being erected in Lahaina to obscure the view of the damage:
